Project 5
Astronomy and The Solar System
Sequence I
Reading comprehension
Pronunciation
Word Building
Grammar
Writing
The Andromeda Galaxy
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A. Reading Comprehension
Read the following text then do the activities
Astronomy
Astronomy is the science of celestial objects (such as
stars, planets, comets and galaxies) and phenomena that
originate outside the Earth’s atmosphere (such as auroras
and cosmic radiation). It is concerned with the evolution and
motion of celestial objects, as well as the formation and
development of the universe.
Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences.
Astronomers of early civilizations
performed observations of the sky;
however, the invention of the telescope
was required before astronomy was able
to develop into a modern science.
In early times, astronomy only comprised the
observations and predictions of the motions of objects
visible to the naked eye. As civilizations developed, most
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notably Babylonia, Persia, Egypt, Greece, India and China,
astronomical observations were assembled, and ideas on
the nature of the universe began to be explored.
Some astronomical discoveries
were made prior to the application
of the telescope. The Chinese
estimated the obliquity of the
ecliptic about 1,000 BC. The
Chaldeans discovered that eclipses
recurred in a repeating cycle.
During the Middle Ages, astronomy
flourished in the Persian Empire and other parts of the
Islamic world. Islamic astronomers introduced many names
that are now used for identifying stars. Then came a
scientific revolution.
During the Renaissance,
Copernicus proposed a
heliocentric model of the
solar system. His work was
defended and corrected by
Galileo Galilei and Johannes
Kepler who used telescopes.
Later Newton’s invention of
celestial dynamics and his
law of gravitation finally explained the motions of the
planets. Further discoveries paralleled the improvements in
the size and quality of the
telescope.
The astronomer William
Herschel discovered the planet
Uranus in 1781 and Friedrich
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Bessel measured the distance to a star in 1838. During the
19th century Euler and D`Alembert made more accurate
predictions about the motions of the Moon and planets.
Significant advances in
astronomy came about
with the introduction of
new technology, including
the spectroscope and
photography.
The existence of the Earth’s
galaxy, external galaxies and of
the Milky Way were only proved
in the 20th century.
In the future more observations
and discoveries will certainly be
made as technology will improve.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Activity 1:
Say whether these statements are true (T) or
false (F) . Correct the false ones.
1. Astronomy is concerned with the development
of our planet Earth only.
.............................................................................
2. Thanks to the invention of the telescope
astronomy has become a modern science.
.............................................................................
3. Before the invention of the telescope , no
discoveries were made.
.............................................................................
4. During the Middle Ages, astronomy developed
in the Persian Empire and Islamic world.
.............................................................................
5. The spectroscope and photography have
allowed great progress in astronomy.
.............................................................................
Activity 2:
Find the questions for these answers
1. ................................................................?
The observation and predictions of the
motions of objects visible to the naked eye.
2. .....................................................................?
During the Middle Ages.
3. .....................................................................?
William Hershel did.
4. .....................................................................?
More accurate predictions about the motions of
the moon and planets
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Activity 3:
Match each word in A with its definition in B
1. celestial a. happen again; be repeated
2. motion b. before
3. prior to c. prosper; be well and active
d. instrument for producing and
4. recur examining the image of a ray
of light
5. flourish e. of the sky
6. spectroscope f. careful and exact;
7. accurate g. manner of moving; movement
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
… … … … … … …
Activity 4:
What or who do the underlined words in the
text refer to?
- It is concerned … Î ………………
- ...that are now ... Î ..………………
- ... his law ... Î ………………
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B. Pronunciation
How to pronounce the final –s- / -es-
♦ Remember that s/es is the mark of plural nouns or the
3rd person singular with the present simple tense.
We also use `s with the genitive or possessive case
book Î books
to run Î he runs
the toy of the little boy Î the little boy’s toy
♦ The final -s- for plural nouns is sometimes written es
when the word ends with sh/ch – tch – z – s
to watch Î he watches.
a bus Î buses
♦ The final -s- is pronounced /s/ after the sounds
k, p, t, f, tk
cooks bats laughs baths
♦ The final -s- is pronounced /iz/ after the sounds
s, z, ch, tch, dg
buses uses washes bridges
♦ The final -s- is pronounced /z/ after the sounds
b, d, g, l, m, n, r, v, w, y, and the vowels.
cars bands windows carries
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Activity 1:
Classify the words in this passage according to
the pronunciation of their final –s-
Nearly all the solar system by volume appears to be
an empty void. Far from being nothingness, this vacuum of
“space” comprises the interplanetary medium. It includes
various forms of energy and two main material components:
interplanetary dust and interplanetary gas.
Interplanetary gas Interplanetary dust
-Interplanetary dust consists of microscopic solid particles.
Interplanetary gas is a tenuous flow of gas and charged
particles, mostly protons and electrons – plasma- which
stream from the sun, called the solar wind .
/s/ /z/ /iz/
.......................... .......................... ..........................
.......................... ..........................
..........................
..........................
..........................
..........................
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C. Word Building
Forming plural nouns
♦ The usual mark of the plural is ‘s’.
e.g.: car Î cars
Sometimes it is necessary to add ‘e’ before ‘s’:
the mark is ‘es’
e.g.: bus Î buses bush Î bushes
♦ However there are other spellings:
9 Words ending in –f (or -fe) make the plural by
changing the -f to –ves
e.g.: leaf Î leaves wife Î wives
9 Words ending in –o make their plural with –es or -s
e.g.: potato Î potatoes radio Î radios
9 Irregular plurals: Some words do not take ‘s’ in the
plural form. There is a change in their spelling.
e.g.: man Î men. (woman Î
women)
child Î children
foot Î feet (tooth Î teeth)
mouse Î mice (louse Î
lice)
ox Î oxen
phenomenon Î phenomena
criterion Î criteria
oxymoron Î oxymora
crisis Î crises
medium Î media
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Activity 1:
Rewrite these sentences using the underlined
words in the plural form.
Make any necessary change.
1. I wonder what criterion has been chosen
by the firm to promote some employees.
.......................................................................
2. What is the most performing communication medium in
your opinion?
..................................................................
........................
3. Look! There is a mouse in the
box.
............................................................
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4. The print of a foot could
be clearly seen in the
snow outside the house.
........................................
5. A strange phenomenon has appeared
in the sky recently.
..........................................................
6. When the crisis broke
out, nobody could do
anything.
...................................
7. An ox is a very useful animal in
a farm.
.................................................
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8. Her tooth was decaying, so she had
to see the dentist.
.................................................................
9. A louse is an insect that sucks blood and
proliferates in dirty places.
......................................................................
10. When the war broke out, he had to leave his child to
join the army.
.....................................................................................
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D. Grammar
USED TO / USED FOR
♦ USED TO is a past verb.
It has no present form.
It is followed by the infinitive.
It is used for an action that happened in the past
repeatedly; a habitual action.
e.g.: I used to live in Blida. (= but now, I live in Algiers.)
My aunt used to teach. ( = but now, she doesn’t; she
has retired.)
♦ IS/ARE USED FOR means:
is/are employed for a purpose.
It is followed by the gerund (verb + -ing)
e.g.: A hammer is used
for driving in nails
e.g: A telescope is used for
making distant objects
appear nearer and larger.
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Activity 1:
Complete with used to or is/are used for:
1. There ............................. be a grocery shop next to the
post office.
2. A wrench ................... gripping
and turning nuts, bolts etc...
3. Valves ...................
controlling the flow
of air, liquid or gas
into or through a
tube or a pipe.
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4. South Africa .......................... have a system based on
racial discrimination that was called apartheid.
5. El Asnam ..............
Orleansville until
1962.
6. A barometer ...................
measuring the pressure of the
atmosphere and for forecasting
the weather.
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7. Men ......................... fights
duels with swords or pistols
when they quarreled.
8. Jacks ......................
raising heavy weights
off the ground,
especially for raising cars
to change a wheel.
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Activity 2:
Complete each sentence with the right verb
from the box in the correct form.
take - make – protect - convey - extract - observe - travel
1. A derrick is used for ......................... oil
from the soil.
2. Binoculars are used for
.................. distant objects
seem nearer.
3. Observatories are used for ......................... natural
phenomena.
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4. A scanner is used for.....................
accurate pictures before a patient
undergoes an operation.
5. Pipelines are used
for......................... oil
places.
6. A sledge is used for
...................... from
one place to another
in Canada.
7. A helmet is used for..................
one’s head.
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Activity 3:
Find what these instruments are used for.
1. A razor ...............................................
2. A saw .....................................
3. A balance ...............................
4. Scissors ..............................................
5. A pair of compasses ..................................
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E. Writing
Using these notes, write the biography of
Al-Zarquali, a famous Arab
astronomer.
- Al-Zarquali (known as Arzachel in Latin Europe)
- born 1028 CE / Andalusia (now Spain)
- Arab mathematician
- excelled at construction of precision instruments for
astronomical use.
constructed
- flat astrolabe and water
clock to determine hours
of day and night /
indicate lunar months.
- contributed to the Tables of Toledo, compilation of
astronomical data.
- famous for his Book of Tables: find the days on which the
Roman, lunar and Persian months begin / other tables give
position of planets at any time / others predict solar and
lunar eclipses/
- Arzachel Crater on the moon named after him
- death : 1087 CE
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Al-Zarquali known as
Arzachel in Latin Europe was
born in 1028 CE in Andalusia,
now Spain. He was an .........
..............................................
..............................................
..............................................................................................
..............................................................................................
..............................................................................................
..............................................................................................
..............................................................................................
..............................................................................................
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